The Long, Dark Night
by thablackkuririn
Summary: His fiance and honor taken by a vampire, Ranma now walks a bloody path to get them back. After Blade comes to his rescue, they join forces and vampire slaying ensues as they search for the vampire who stole Ranma's life. CHAPTER 2 NOW UP
1. The Night is Young

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi and Blade is the property of Marvel. I had nothing to do with creating these works, unfortunately, or I'd be raking in the cash as we speak. Anyway, all non Ranma/Marvel characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so please leave the lawyers for people who are actually infringing copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
The Long, Dark Night  
  
Chapter 1 – The Night Is Young  
  
The rave club stood in one of the oldest, dirtiest, most desolate parts of Tokyo, seemingly removed from the clean neon glow of Tokyo proper. The buildings in the area were little more than decrepit and condemned warehouses whose lots were littered with the refuse of decay. The club itself looked as, if not more, derelict as its neighbors and the casual observer might have passed over it as yet another building falling to pieces. It stood three storeys high, its facade, obviously more than a century year old, managed to look both crumbling and solid. Unlike the other buildings, it did not have broken windows, mainly because they were all bricked up. In fact, the only indication that anything occupied the building was the long line of people waiting to enter a non-descript door that was flanked by two burly guards and a pale looking man wearing a trendy clubbing outfit and sunglasses. That and the thumping trance music that drifted, along with cigarette smoke, from the open door.  
  
The club had no name and it really had no need for one anyway. It was so highly regarded by the "in" crowd of Tokyo's clubbing scene that hundreds lined up nightly fully expecting to be turned away. It was so exclusive that only with an invitation from a member could you ever gain admittance. That, of course, did not keep people from trying to get in or from offering themselves to the stylish members who came and went. Not even the brutal cold of this December night diminished the line.  
  
Across the street, a short, buxom, red haired Japanese girl stood in the shadows in The Alley. It was called "The Alley" because members of the club who were looking for "companions" to go into the club walked through the alley, where they would listen to the solicitations of daring or desparate clubbers seeking to penetrate the closed exclusivity of the club. She alternately stared at the club and down the alley, obviously waiting for someone. She ignored the voices that began chattering excitedly as a male and a female, their blood red masks identifying them as members, walked down The Alley. The voices quickly died down as two handsome males and three pretty females were chosen and led, almost like pets, across the street and into the club. If she was disappointed, the girl did not show it.  
  
The chatter began again and the girl, seeing a single male listening to the entreaties of the other occupants of the alley, turned her full attention to him. He suddenly motioned to one particularly good looking girl, who ran to his side excitedly and took his proferred arm. When the new couple came within five feet of her spot in the shadows, the red-head stepped out directly in their path.  
  
"Are you sure you want to choose before you've seen the best out here?" she asked the man seductively.  
  
The man in question stood, goggle-eyed, staring at the beautiful young woman now blocking his path. She stood no more than five feet, four inches and had the most perfect female figure he had ever seen in his life. Under a long black cloak she wore a short, red, Chinese style dress with splits on both sides, an outfit that did far more than flatter her body. His eyes travelled down her body, along her shapely legs to the small feet that were sheathed in red stilleto heels. His eyes u-turned, roaming over her ample breasts, pausing over her elegant face to admire her brilliant blue eyes. But the most exciting feature for him was the long, silky-looking, fiery red hair that flowed over her shoulders. The man thanked Kami for his luck, mainly because he was almost insanely attracted to people with red hair.  
  
"Hmm...maybe I was a bit too quick to choose." he said, disengaging himself from the other girl and approaching the red-head. "You are quite different from these others..."  
  
"Ranko." the red-head supplied, flashing a sexy smile.  
  
"Ranko...a lovely name for a lovely lady." He said, offering his arm. Ranko grabbed his arm and walked with him towards the club entrance. "You are quite special, Ranko-chan. You are the first red haired Japanese girl I've ever seen."  
  
Ranko laughed mischievously. "Oh, you'll find I'm special in many ways. And I'm very generous with handsome men who do good things for me." she said, winking.  
  
The man smiled at the implications of her statement as they walked through the doors into the club. They passed through a dimly lit lobby that lived up to the decayed look of the facade, it's tile floor cracked and concrete walls dingy. Through another door they went into the main area of the club which, thankfully, abandoned the derelict look for the layout and look of a modern disco. The large dance floor was packed with hundreds of bodies writhing to the pumping trance from the speakers. It was surrounded by a short divider on all sides, much like an ice rink, with a long bar running the length of the left side. On the opposite side was a staircase leading up to what looked to be a VIP area and the DJ booth. The man made to steer Ranko towards the bar but, instead, found himself being pulled away towards a side door by the girl.  
  
"Hey, where are we rushing off to?" he asked, smiling.  
  
"We just need a little privacy. After all, you want what's coming to you, right?" she said, again with the sultry voice that was driving him wild. He nodded vigorously.  
  
The door opened into a dimly lit hall that was much like the lobby with the exception that it was deserted. Ranko pulled him into the hall and shut the door before leaning back against the wall and pulling him against her body. He hungrily began kissing her, slowly moving down to her neck, the neck he so wanted to bite, the beautiful morsel whose blood he lusted for. She grabbed him and held him tightly with her left arm and he bared his fangs, preparing to bite into her.  
  
"I wouldn't, if I were you." she said suddenly, her voice cold as ice. He stopped, confused.  
  
"What?" he asked, raising his head to look her in the eye.  
  
"I said that I wouldn't do that, if I were you." she replied, her eyes as cold as her voice. He could see a look of revulsion and something else he could not place in the girl's eyes.  
  
"And how, little girl, will you stop me? You've made a date with a vampire, and the date will be kept. There's nothing you can do about it." he said, baring his fangs to frighten her. He was surprised that she did not even flinch. In fact, she laughed at him.  
  
"Oh, I think I can. I'm full of surprises, especially the long, sharp, silver kind." she said, producing a foot long blade in her right hand. His eyes widened at the sight of the weapon. He struggled back against her grip, but she held him in place. Fear, for the first time in several hundred years gripped him.  
  
"Wh-what do you want from me? I'll give you anything!" he cried out.  
  
"Want? I've already gotten everything from you I needed." she said matter-of-factly. His face looked panic stricken. "Wait, that's not true. I did want one more thing." Her eyes narrowed almost to slits. "I want you to die."  
  
In a swift move, too fast even for his vampire eyes, she pushed him away with her left hand and sliced upwards with her right. The man stood for a moment, face frozen with shock, seemingly unscathed, before his body began to disintegrate from a vertical slash that extended from his left hip to his right shoulder. Within seconds, he was nothing more than scattered black ash on the broken tile floor.  
  
Ranko, also known as Ranma Soatome, put the weapon away using the Hidden Weapons trick she had figured out from fighting Mousse, then stepped back through the door and into the main area of the club. She walked around the dance floor, walking past the long bar. Her eyes, alert as ever for danger, noted the powerfully built black man, dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses, seated at the bar. Ranma-chan wondered to herself why everyone insisted on wearing sunglasses so late at night. The man seemed to be searching for someone before his stare locked onto her as she approached where he was sitting. She could not tell if he was human or vampire and his stare, from behind the shades, unsettled her.  
  
"Take a picture." she said to him, bristling, as she walked past. "It'll last longer."  
  
If he heard her, Ranma-chan did not know. She was glad to be past him and heading towards the VIP area. The crowd between herself and the stairs to the VIP area was thick but she managed to get to them with little trouble. She turned back and looked over the crowded club. Two years ago, Ranma Soatome would never have set a foot inside such a place. That was before a terrible event had changed everything. Swiftly and violently, as it always did, the memory descended on her.  
  
-----  
  
The date had been planned carefully down to the minute. By all rights, it very well should have been perfect, considering the person who had planned it was Nabiki Tendo. The entertainment and food had been arranged. More importantly, the troublesome elements that always seemed to plague Akane and Ranma had been accounted for. The Soatome and Tendo patriarchs were on a drinking spree with their master, Happosai. The Kunos were currently pursuing a family of highly skilled acrobats that had been paid to impersonate Ranma and female Ranma. The Nekohanten and Ucchan's Okonomiyaki were currently swamped due to a price war (artfully manipulated by Nabiki) between the two establishments. And Ryoga, as seemed to be the case so often lately, was nowhere to be found. Every T had been crossed and every I dotted, so it had seemed. Nabiki had even bet a million yen that everything would go exactly according to plan.  
  
"She owes me a millin yen." Ranma grumbled as he walked down a street headed in the general direction of the Tendo home. "I just knew that idiot Ryoga would show up!"  
  
Everything had, indeed, been proceeding according to schedule until after the play Ranma and Akane had attended. That one undotted I, the eternally lost Ryoga Hibiki, wandered through the crowd and literally ran into Ranma. As was nearly always the case, Ranma ended up fighting with the lost boy after trying to avoid the confrontation. This time, however, Ranma was genuinely angry with Ryoga for ruining the perfectly planned date and beat the boy pretty badly. He had turned back to Akane in time to be yelled at for "picking on Ryoga" and ruining the date, to which he angrily replied, exasperated: "What's with you?!! Pig-boy always starts fights with me and *I'm* the bully? He ruins our date and it's *my* fault? I'm your fiance but you take his side all the time and I'm sick of it! If you like him so much better than me then why don't you go with him! Date's over!"  
  
He had ignored Akane's angry retort as he walked away feeling angry enough to beat on twenty Ryogas. He walked around aimlessly for ten minutes, trying, in vain, to let the anger disippate. "Damn Ryoga....always ruining everything! Next time I see P-chan, he's-" Ranma was stopped abruptly by a scream. A female scream. A female whose scream he knew very well. Akane.  
  
In an instant he had hopped onto the nearest building, leaping in the direction of Akane's piercing scream. His heart pounded as fear crept on him, with anger following close behind. Whoever was hurting his fiance would rue the day they were born. That much he would make sure of.  
  
Ranma was moving so fast that he had covered the distance back to where he had left Akane in less than thirty seconds. Another scream rang out, muffled, and he ran in that direction, his keen hearing telling him that she was no more than 2 blocks away. In seconds he was there, stepping into an unusually dark alley. At the other end was Akane, limp in the grip of a man, who looked up at Ranma as he entered the alley. No, not a man...no man's eyes glowed red in the dark. Ranma was about to launch himself at the thing, but stopped short as the moon emerged from the clouds, bathing the scene in moonlight. The face of thing burned itself into his memory, the thing he would stop at nothing to kill. It's face looked Japanese and Ranma could make out the marks of tattoes on it's neck. Most revealing of the creature's nature, however, were the unusual paleness of the skin and the fangs. Fangs which dripped with blood. Even at this distance, Ranma could tell that Akane's neck had been bitten.  
  
Ranma's anger returned with a vengeance. Many in his past had made the mistake of hurting those for whom he cared, and they had paid dearly for that mistake. Vampire or not, he would strike with violence that none, not even a god, could stand before. He launched himself down the alley, a savage, ferocious yell escaping his lips. In two steps he was there, while his prey leapt unnaturally high into the air, still holding Akane. Ranma followed them high into the air, fairly licking his chops at the prospect of fighting in mid-air. With his skill in the Saotome form of Anything GOes, he could make mincemeat of any opponent in the air.  
  
Just before he reached them, someone slammed into him with a mid-air tackle. Ranma jabbed the man viciously in the back with an elbow then, grasping the man in a tight reverse headlock, flipped backwards so fast that his neck snapped. He let the man go flying into a dumpster while he landed in a crouch, prepared to leap back into the air. Instead he was forced to flip backwards to avoid another assailant intent on stomping him into the ground. The new man followed him closely as he jumped back, kicking at him as he landed. Ranma ducked and, pushing off the ground with his right arm, lifted his feet straight up, slamming into the man's chest. Using the momentum, he flipped onto his feet and ran at the man, who had recovered from the blow in mid-air and landed on his feet. In a normal fight, the man might have been able to trade blows with Ranma, but now the pig-tailed martial artist was not in the mood to play. Ranma blocked the first punch from the man so hard that every bone in his arm shattered. He hardly had time to cry out in pain before Ranma's fist plowed into his face, instantly shattering every bone in his face and knocking his head back so far that his neck broke. His body flew backwards, hitting a wall with a sickening thud. Ranma ran back towards the end of the alley, hoping to see some sign of Akane and the vampire. But there was nothing, save the sound of thunder. As the rain begin to fall, Ranma-chan fell to her knees, surrounded by a sickly yellow aura flickering with despair deeper than Ryoga Hibiki had ever experienced.  
  
-----  
  
Ranma-chan shook her head, trying to rid herself of the sickening feeling that memory always gave her. Up these stairs, in the VIP room, was someone who would lead her right to Akane and her kidnapper. All she needed to do was convince the person in question to be forthcoming. As she had been proving for more than a year, she could be very convincing, especially to vampires. She made her way up the stairs, trying to look as sexy as possible for the two human guards at the top of the stairs. If she pulled it off, they would let her in and she would not have to kill anyone. Well, not before she needed to kill anyone.  
  
"Hold on there, darlin', where do you think you're going?" asked one of the guards, a tall, burly man fairly bursting out of a black, short-sleeved shirt that was obviously a size or two too small. Ranma-chan noted the man's tatooed arms that marked him as a member of the Yakuza. He was not the first Yakuza that she had seen with vampires.  
  
"I want to go in there." Ranma-chan responded, smiling sweetly as she pointed past them.  
  
"Sorry, sweetheart," the other guard, shorter and less bulky than his partner and bald to boot, replied. "The VIP room is members only."  
  
"Aww, come on." she replied, pouting. "Isn't there anything I can do to get in?"  
  
"Well I dunno honey." said the bigger one, stroking Ranma-chan's hair. "Is all of your hair red?" His partner began chuckling at the implication of the question.  
  
"Well maybe I'll let you find out." Ranma-chan replied, smiling seductively. She put an arm around each man. "*If* you let me in."  
  
"Oh, I think that can be done." said the smaller man. "Right Ken?"  
  
When Ken did not answer, the man was about to ask again, but found that he could not make a sound. For that matter, he could not even move a muscle in his body save for his eyes.  
  
"That takes care of you two." said Ranma-chan, who had surreptitiously tapped several pressure points on the men. For good measure, she tapped a couple more points that would provide hours of pain for them. She walked past them and through a tacky bead curtain that looked like it belonged in the 70s. The VIP room was fairly large, with a couple sofas and chairs around a big square glass table. Beyond that was a small bar along the right wall and a dance floor between it and a long tinted window over-looking the rest of the club. After that was an office area, complete with a large desk, filing cabinets, and several chairs. Ranma-chan looked over the people in the room and was not surprised to see that, of the twenty or so people in the room, more than half were vampires. She walked straight back to the office area, where several of the vampires were congregating.  
  
"Which one of you is Takeburo?" she asked.  
  
"Who's asking?" said one of them, a young looking man that was, unsurprisingly, dressed in black. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing intricate tatooes.  
  
"If you ain't Takeburo, that's not your business." Ranma-chan replied curtly.  
  
"I am Takeburo. And what is it you want, girl?" said another man that looked to be in his 40s that was sitting behind the desk. He wore a black suit with a red tie and handkerchief.  
  
"Information. Someone told me you had it." she said. Ranma-chan produced two photos and dropped them on the desk. "I'm looking for these two people. The girl's name is Akane. I dunno the guy's name, but I know he's one of you guys."  
  
The vampires visibly stiffened. Takeburo looked from the folders up at Ranma-chan. "I have no idea who those people are. Now if you'll excuse..."  
  
"No, I think you do know them, and you're gonna tell me what I want to know or else."  
  
"Or else what?" Takeburo asked, surreptitiously sending signals to his bodyguards.  
  
"Or else you won't live long enough to regret it." she responded, folding her arms over her chest.  
  
"That's bold talk from a little fly who's walked right into the spider's web." he said, motioning to his bodyguards, who were pulling out guns.  
  
Ranma-chan was already a step ahead of them. In a quick move, she was over the desk and had whipped out her foot long silver blade, holding it to Takeburo's throat with her right hand while holding him in a half-nelson with her left hand. "No sudden moves, boys. And put those guns down if you don't want your boss dead." They began dropping their weapons on a nod from Takeburo.  
  
"You won't get out of here alive." he said. He was sweating profusely and eyeing the silver blade nervously.  
  
"That's the least you need to worry about." she replied through her teeth. "Now then, that man and the girl, where can I find them?"  
  
"I told you I don't kno-AUGH!!!" he cried out as she pressed the blade against his neck. Smoke rose from where the silver was burning his skin.  
  
"Sorry if I don't believe you. And you guys had better stop inching forward...I might accidentally slip up and slit his throat." she said. "Now I'll only ask one more time, where are they?"  
  
"Fuck you." Takeburo said. "You're dead bitch. Dead!"  
  
"Wrong answer." She sliced through his neck like a hot knife through butter and, as satisfying as that was, she did not take the time to appreciate it. As expected, her execution of Takeburo got the attention of the vampires and caused panic among the humans, especially when they saw him disintegrate into fine black ash. Tucking the blade away in hammer-space, Ranma-chan flipped the desk over and kicked it hard towards the vampires just as they were aiming their guns at her. The desk bowled over three of the vampires and forced another two to roll out of the way. She smirked confidently as several of the vampires flew at her from across the room and she jumped forward to meet them halfway. Ranma-chan easily avoided a punch and, spinning quickly, kicked the first vampire against the wall. She blocked an incoming kick with her leg as she finished the spin, then grasped the vampire by his face. She slammed him down to the ground and let a torrent of ki flow from her palm into his mouth.  
  
"Die, you blood sucking piece of shit!" Ranma-chan shouted. The vampire began to glow red and bulge unnaturally. Ranma-chan jumped up and bolted straight for the window, grabbing an attacking vampire along the way. Behind them, an explosion ripped through the VIP room, engulfing everything in unnatural red and black flame, just as they crashed through the window overlooking the dance floor.  
  
-----  
  
"I've spotted her, Whistler." Blade said. The microphone cleverly concealed in the collar of his trench coat transmitted his message out of the club to his partner-in-crime. As he watched her walk away, Blade wondered how she could tell that he had been staring, especially since he had not turned his head and his eyes were concealed behind dark sunglasses. "That picture doesn't do her justice."  
  
"Funny, you usually don't go for girls that ain't vamps." Whistler replied through his earpiece.  
  
"Hah hah, you're fucking hilarious." Blade deadpanned. "Anyway, I don't see her partner. Looks like she's going solo tonight. There's a lot of blood suckers in here, but considering the setting, it's not out of the ordinary. Anything going on out there?"  
  
"A rat and a roach are fighting. The roach is winning. Other than that, nothing. You need any backup?"  
  
Blade looked around slowly, looking for anything unusual. "No. The vamps are giving me the VIP treatment in here, I don't think they're crazy enough to attack me outright. I don't know though...I feel like something's gonna go down. Keep your eyes open and let me know if you see anything."  
  
"Yeah yeah, you really had to tell me that." Whistler grumbled.  
  
Blade chuckled to himself. Whistler never could quite ditch the crotchety old man act. As he looked around the rave club, he could not help but see the similarities between it and countless other clubs he had been to around the world. The things were like little franchise outfits with the same looks and style and the same menu. They catered to the young, trendy set, both human and vampire. Here, the vampires could easily feed on fresh and willing victims, right under the nose of the law. Even with all the strides that he had made in his personal war against vampire-kind, these and similar enterprises were popping up all over the world. To make matters worse, the response from the vampire hunters worldwide had been underwhelming, due in large part to the slayings of several prominent vampire hunting groups. As much as he hated to admit it, Blade knew that he alone would never be able to destroy all the vampires on Earth; They were too numerous, established, and well connected. At Whistler's suggestion, Blade had contacted the major hunters on every continent and pledged to visit their countries to help "drum up support". In addition, he and Whistler were following up leads on new, unaffiliated hunters whose effectiveness at killing vampires had landed them on the vampires' hit list. It had been dirty work so far, but they had managed to save some of them from death.  
  
To that effect they were now in Japan, searching for four people who were causing panic in and wreaking havoc on the Japanese vampire community. The only things keeping the four of them alive was their relative anonymity and elusiveness. It had, therefore, been quite a challenge to dig up information on them, but Blade and Whistler always knew the right places and the right vampires to lean on. Blade could be a very persuasive person.  
  
Beyond their physical descriptions and some rather grainy photos, Blade had not been able to find too much on the four. Two of the people were a female duo that had begun their careers with a string of well executed, strategic strikes against Japanese vampire strongholds. They had killed more than a hundred vampires in two months, many of whom were important in the community. They were obviously well trained, well connected, and well prepared, but they weren't the top priority to the Japanese vampires. The other two people, a young man and young woman, were. The vampires did not know if they were a team or just associates that occasionally worked together. At times they would be seen alone, other times they would be seen together. Unlike the first two, they did not work with any particular rhyme or reason, but that did not make them any less deadly or effective. Individually they could both kill as many as thirty vampires at once, but when they were spotted in the same night, that number could easily double or triple.  
  
After digging a bit further, they had learned where to locate the duo. The other two, however, were not so easy to locate. It was by a stroke of luck that Whistler had come across a plot to capture either the girl or the guy. It seemed that the vampires were luring them into a trap, a trap set to close tonight, at this very club. Knowing the vampires and the reputation of the two, there would be a lot of vampires stacking the deck. Blade did not even kid himself; he was not there to even the odds, he was there to get one or both of them away safely before they were killed or captured. Now that he had spotted the girl, he knew the whole thing would go down soon.  
  
Blade began noticing some unusual movements among the crowd, movements an untrained eye might have missed. Despite the loud, thumping music, his sensitive ears were picking up some high frequency noise. The vampires where on the move, and things were about to get hot. "Whistler, the vamps are on the move."  
  
"Roger that, there's a shitload of 'em pouring into the back. You're gonna be up to your elbows in 'em."  
  
"I don't know what the girl did, but they ain't playing around. The girl went into the VIP room. I'm gonna go up and grab her, then we'll head out the front. Be ready." Blade stood up and headed for the stairs to the VIP room, but five vampires melted out of the crowd and stood in his way.  
  
"Daywalker! You'll wish you hadn't come here tonight." one spat at him menacingly.  
  
Blade smiled, baring his fangs, as he slowly unsheathed his sword. "No, *you'll* wish I hadn't come here tonight."  
  
-----  
  
The vampire she had used as a shield was dust before she landed on the dance floor. The club's human patrons were fleeing in panic, trampling each other to get away. Bewildered vampires, less concerned with personal safety, pointed at the now destroyed VIP room, trying to figure out what was going on. It was just as well to Ranma-chan; she would have to worry less about hurting innocent bystanders. She stood up slowly and looked around, noticing for the first time that there were far more vampires in the club than she had originally seen and that they were effectively surrounding her. Towards the exits, she could see even more swarming in, and, with their black jumpsuits and sub-machine guns, they did not look at all like run-of-the-mill vampires.  
  
"Damn it, it's a set up." she thought to herself. "I'm glad I killed that bastard who told me about this place."  
  
"You're surrounded, Ranma Soatome." said a male vampire, obviously a leader of the black clad vampires, as he stepped forward. "Come with us quietly and you won't be hurt."  
  
"Yeah right, like I'd ever believe you leeches." Ranma-chan spat. "And how the hell do you know my name anyway?"  
  
"That's irrelevant. What is relevant is that every gun in here is trained on you. Don't make us hurt you."  
  
"You blood suckers make me laugh." she replied, chuckling. "After all this time, that's the best you have? More guns? I guess nobody told you, but I *dodge bullets*."  
  
Before the vampire could reply, gunfire rang out in the direction of the bar. Suddenly, everyone's attention was not on Ranma-chan, and she gladly seized the opportunity. With her right hand, she whipped out her blade; with her left hand, she extracted a handful of silver plated shuriken from hammerspace. The nearest vampires never stood a chance and were dust before others had retrained their guns on her. Gunfire erupted all over the club, but Ranma-chan was too fast even for vampire reflexes. She let loose a spray of shuriken without looking, confident that they would find their target. Around her an ice blue aura flared as she engaged her enemies hand to hand, and they wilted back as if burned. Nothing could stop her.  
  
-----  
  
"Reinforcements! We need reinforcements now!" a vampire shouted into his headset. "Ranma and the daywalker are killing us!"  
  
As Blade emptied another clip in the vampire's direction, mowing down him and five others around him, he began to worry about actually getting out of this fight alive. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see more of the vampire ninja storming into the place, replacing those he killed. Even worse, though, was that the majority of them were going towards the main dance floor. Even if the girl was as good as was rumored, she could not last forever. The sheer number of bodies they were throwing at her would soon overwhelm her.  
  
A dry click from his gun reminded him that he had spent his bullets. His silver stakes were also gone and his silver garotte wire and silver throwing blade were nigh on useless in such a crowded battle. He had nothing else keeping the vampires at bay but his trusty blade. The vampires swarmed on him. Throwing away his gun, Blade gripped his sword in both hands and slashed away at the first few he met. Bullets whizzed by his head, reminding him that snipers were all around. He ducked down as another volley flew his way, pelting several vampire ninja. Blade rolled away and slashed at more vampires, severing their legs, but more vampires replaced them.  
  
"ARGH!! Why don't you bastards die?!!" Blade yelled. He angrily slashed away as the vampire ninja closed in.  
  
-----  
  
Ranma-chan dispatched yet another vampire, but the fight was beginning to take a toll on her. This fight was not like the others; for every vampire she killed, three took its place. And these vampires were highly trained, making it that much harder to kill them. At this rate, fighting hand to hand, it would not be long before they overwhelmed her.  
  
"Gotta use a ki attack." she thought as she kicked another vampire away. "It's the only way I'll get outta this mess."  
  
Ranma-chan easily avoided more gunfire as she dove into another group of vampires, her silver blade flashing in the light, as if signalling impending death for all. It was obvious, with the sheer number of enemies she faced, that a Mouko Takabisha would be foolish. The attack had a limited range and, even worse, it took too long between shots. No, the best attack in this situation would be the Rising Dragon Ascension. But the move required a massive amount of hot ki and the vampires, unfortunately, would not provide any for it. Where was she going to find enough hot ki to pull it off?  
  
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME, YOU DAMN DIRTY VAMPIRES!!!"  
  
Ranma-chan whipped her head around, trying to find the source of that angry yell. She jumped off the head of an attacking vampire, launching herself in the direction from which it had originated. It was the black man, and he was furiously fighting off a swarm of vampires with a sword that Ranma-chan suspected was silver plated. As if to confirm that fact, several vampires turned to ash as he cut through them. Though he was obviously a formidable fighter, she could tell that he was being overwhelmed and, even better, he was fighting with an increasing level of anger. She could fairly feel the hot ki pouring off of him as she bounded towards him on the heads of the vampires.  
  
She began running around where he was fighting, gathering cold ki and hoping to God that he would hold out long enough. Round and round she went, ignoring the bullets that were dropping, frozen solid, five feet from her. Vampires tried to attack, but backed off because they were strangely being charred when getting close to her. Meanwhile, Blade was slowly becoming overwhelmed, angrily flailing away in desperation. Finally, he could not keep them back anymore. Ranma-chan knew she had to launch the attack.  
  
"Sorry buddy, this is gonna hurt like hell," she thought to herself as she lifted her fist upwards. "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!!!"  
  
The tornado appeared out of nowhere, sucking up anything within twenty feet. It roared like an angry lion, it's winds tearing at anything that was not tied down. Everyone besides Ranma-chan were struggling to get away from it. But the tornado was also getting bigger, much bigger than Ranma-chan expected. In a matter of moments the top of the funnel had grown to fill the ceiling above the large dance floor. Vampires were being sucked into the tornado at an alarming rate and spat out of the top, charred as if burned alive.  
  
"It shouldn't be that big! What's giving it more energy?" she wondered frantically. "It's gonna tear this building down!"  
  
Ranma-chan knew she had to get away, but she knew she could not leave the black man, who had unwittingly helped her create the tornado, out on a limb. She did not know whether she could trust him, but he had shown that he was no lover of vampires; an enemy of her enemy was her friend, Ranma-chan figured. But saving him would require jumping into that tornado, a thought that Ranma-chan did not relish.  
  
She ran as quickly as possible and leapt right in at lower part of the funnel. The tornado sucked her around in circles, the wind tearing at her already tattered dress. All around her swirled chair, tables, and bodies, each a deadly projectile at the speeds the tornado was generating. Ranma-chan, however, did not see them as dangers, but as stepping stones to the black man. Knowing the effects of the Rising Dragon Ascension, the target of the attack would be held aloft in the middle of the tornado getting pummelled. Once they lost consciousness, the tornado would dissipate. The black man was apparently quite tough if it was still going this strong.  
  
She launched herself upwards off of a table and continued rising through the funnel by jumping of the charred vampire bodies and other debris. In moments she could see him, projectiles ricocheting off his body. From the way he took the tornado's blows, she could tell that he was out cold, but since that the tornado was increasing power that should have been impossible. Considering the frequency of things smashing into his body, she would have to time her jump to him perfectly if she expected to escape unscathed.  
  
The chair she had just landed on suddenly pitched towards the black man, putting her on a collision course with him. The fact that no less than five other objects were doing likewise somewhat diminished that stroke of luck. Undaunted, she pushed hard off of the chair and tackled him out of the way just as the projectiles collided behind them. As skillfully as before, she hopped from object to object, making her way towards the ground with the man draped over her shoulder. Finally, she escaped the tornado and raced as fast as she could towards the entrance, trying to ignore the burning in her lungs, the shaking of the walls, and the rumbling sound of the building collapsing. Behind them, the building was imploding, it's walls and ceiling trying in vain to beat them to the entrance.  
  
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Ranma-chan screamed as she sped past the entrance, a mountain of debris on her heels. She skidded to a halt and dropped the black man, falling to her knees and gulping air. She turned her head to look back at the remains of the building and the tornado that still raged and threatened to engulf the surrounding buildings. To her astonishment, the tornado roared one last time, then fizzled out in less than a second, depressurizing the area so fast that her ears popped. The sound of rain filled the air, but none was falling. Instead, the remains of the club and more than a hundred vampires were falling to the ground. Bewildered but satisfied, Ranma-chan slowly rose to her feet and picked up the man.  
  
"Freeze!!! Get your damn hands up!!!" someone shouted. At least thirty of the vampire ninja Surrounded them, their guns trained tight on her. Ranma-chan sighed dejectedly.  
  
"Damn it, how many of you guys did they send?" she wondered out loud. Her eyes flitted around nervously, looking for a way, any way, out. For once she was truly worried. These vampires had already shown themselves to be extremely formidable. Alone she might escape but, with an unconscious man on her shoulder, she could not be certain. And surrender definitely was not an option. Fortunately, automatic gunfire rang out and, before her eyes, the vampires disintegrated to black ash.  
  
"Vamps always do talk to damn much." said a grizzled looking gaijin, amazingly in perfect Japanese. He looked at her with surprise for a moment, then gestured at her to follow. "C'mon Red, if you don't wanna see how many more of them is left."  
  
He quickly led her into an alley, where a big, black Chevy Suburban was waiting. "Just throw him in the back." he said gruffly, jerking his thumb back at the SUV. She heaved the black man into the back seat, then hopped into the passenger seat. The man put the car into gear then stomped hard on the gas, the tires screeching in response. Ranma-chan only relaxed after they had gone a few blocks and she was certain that they were not being followed.  
  
"Ok now, who the hell are you?" she demanded.  
  
"The name's Whistler. Sleepyhead back there's Blade. We've been looking for you."  
  
"You and about a thousand people." she responded, warily. "What do you know about me? And what were you doing at that club?"  
  
"We know that you're a vampire hunter and that you're at the top of the Japanese vampire's hit list. We found out about a trap set for you and went to the club to save you."  
  
"Hmmph, I don't need anybody's help." she replied. "And your boy wasn't doing that hot in there anyway."  
  
"Christ, you hunter types always got the worst attitudes." Whistler grumbled. "Anyway, what's your name?"  
  
"Ranma. What, you couldn't find that out too? Everyone else seemed to know it today."  
  
"That's odd..."  
  
"Ugh...what the fuck hit me?" said a voice from the backseat. Blade slowly sat up, shaking his head.  
  
"I did." Ranma-chan replied, matter-of-factly. "Didn't take you that long to get up. I'm impressed."  
  
"How could you have..."  
  
"You were covered in vampires. You didn't have time to see me hit you with the Rising Dragon Ascension." she said plainly, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"Wait a minute, what's that?" Blade asked.  
  
"It was the tornado that tore down that building. By the way, what the hell are you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. What. Are. You? Cause you sure ain't human...not anymore at least."  
  
"Blade's halfway between vamp and human." Whistler interjected. "All the strengths, none of the weaknesses. That bother you?"  
  
She looked Blade up and down while he stared at her impassively from behind his shades. "As long as you're using that power to get rid of the blood suckers, I don't care."  
  
"And what about you?" Blade asked. "You look human enough, but no human could do what you were doing back in there."  
  
"Shows what you know. I know at least ten other people that could do nearly the same, and that's just here in Tokyo." she retorted. "Besides, you've been sniffing me to see if I'm one of them since you woke up. You know I'm human."  
  
"Haha, she's got you there Blade." Whistler said, laughing. "By the way Ranma, where's your partner?"  
  
"What partner?"  
  
"You know, the boy...black hair. Looks a little like your brother or something."  
  
"That ain't my brother. That's *me*."  
  
"Bullshit." Blade said. "My sources said you're at least half a foot or more shorter than the boy. And they said that it definitely was a male. There's no way you could've fooled them with any disguise."  
  
"I ain't gonna argue with you guys." Ranma-chan said. "I'll just show you. And keep your hands on the wheel, Whistler." She produced a thermos, opened the top, and poured a bit of steaming liquid into the top. She then proceeded to dump the liquid onto her head. In moments, a very male Ranma Soatome was sitting in the passenger seat, looking very much out of sorts in a tattered red dress. Blade was speechless and Whistler reacted the only way he could think to; he jammed hard on the brakes.  
  
"What the hell are you?" exclaimed Blade and Whistler simultaneously. Ranma just sighed.  
  
"It's just a curse. Hot water makes me male, cold water makes me female." he said tiredly. He put the thermos away and took out a different one, filled with cold water, then repeated the process, returning to female. "And before you ask, I'm male."  
  
"There ain't no such thing as a curse." Whistler said, but his words did not have much conviction.  
  
"You just watched twenty *vampires* turn to dust but you can't believe in a curse?" she said. "Trust me buddy, the curse is the least unbelievable thing I've ever seen. Now can we get moving again?"  
  
"What were you doing in there tonight, Ranma?" Blade asked as they continued on.  
  
"I'm looking for my fiance and the vampire that took her." she replied, her voice filled with hate.  
  
"Girl...err, boy, if she's been taken, she's either dead or vamp by now." said Whistler.  
  
"I can't...I won't believe that till I see her body." Her voice quavered and she looked away from them, out into the street.  
  
"He's right, you know." Said Blade, taking off his shades. "But you won't find anything if you keep killing every vampire you see."  
  
"They deserve to die! They took her from me! They took my honor from me!" Ranma shouted.  
  
A long silence fell between them. After a while, Blade spoke again. "Look Ranma, we're here now because we thought you were a hunter. It's not safe for new hunters, especially those that aren't affiliated with other hunters, and especially not now."  
  
"I'm not a hunter...I just want Akane back. And I won't stop till I get her."  
  
"Fine. Then maybe we can make a deal." said Whistler. "Blade can be very persuasive, especially to a vamp. We help you find your girl while you help us give Japan a vampire shortage." He grinned at her.  
  
Ranma-chan considered her options. She had been searching so long and left a trail of vampire ash behind her, but it had not gotten her any closer to finding Akane. After tonight's fiasco at the club, it was apparent that the vampires were no longer going to tolerate her inquiries. And now she was at a dead end. As much as she hated to admit it, if she wanted to find Akane, she would need all the help she could get. "Ok then. It's a deal."  
  
"Good. Then let's get going to Kyoto, Whistler." said Blade. "The sooner we get there, the better."  
  
"What's in Kyoto?" asked Ranma-chan.  
  
"Not what. Who." Blade passed two photos up to her and switched on the cab lights. "Those two are right below you on the Japanese vampire's hit list. They work together and have been on a methodical vampire killing spree for about two months now."  
  
"I...I know...I know these two..." she stammered.  
  
"You know them? Are you sure?" Blade asked.  
  
"I'm positive..." Their appearances had changed, but there was no mistaking them. In the picture was a male kunoichi and a short-haired young woman, dressed in black and carrying what looked like a huge okonomiyaki spatula. "That's Konatsu and Ukyo!"  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
-----  
  
Author's Notes  
  
Whew, finally finished this after five days of hard work. Truthfully, I had completely worked out this chapter months ago but I was giving more attention to Heart of a Warrior. I got some ugly writer's block trying to write chapter 3b of that story, so I turned back to this one and it turned out to be a good idea. Thank you writer's block for giving me the inspiration to finish this chapter. I intend to make this a relatively short series of chapters, but seeing how much I wrote for the intro chapter alone, I dunno if that's gonna happen. The story itself is straightforward, but verbosity seems to be my forte, so it'll prolly add up.  
  
On some side notes, 3b of HoaW is still being worked on and might be through in a couple weeks. It really is giving me that much trouble. There are also some other fan fics and original fics that are in the concept and plotting stages at the moment, just in case I hit more writer's block.  
  
Finally, if you liked/disliked this story chapter, please throw me some comments. I really do read those and take them into account when I write and rewrite.  
  
Sorry for making your read this long AN section ~_~ 


	2. Strangers in the Night

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi and Blade is the property of Marvel. I had nothing to do with creating these works, unfortunately, or I'd be raking in the cash as we speak. Anyway, all non Ranma/Marvel characters are my original creations and I would be extremely displeased if anyone used them without my permission. This story is provided free of charge, so please leave the lawyers for people who are actually infringing copyrights for profit.  
  
And now, our feature presentation...  
  
Note: [] = end notes, * = bold text, = vampire tongue  
  
The Long, Dark Night  
  
Chapter 2 – Strangers in the Night  
  
Ukyo Kuonji stood in a white-tiled shower under a hot stream of water, her head resting on the wall just underneath her crossed forearms. She cried silently, shudders racking her body as the water washed over her. Her dream of Ranma was still fresh in her mind, opening an old wound that never seemed to heal. The pig-tailed boy was always on her mind and, as much as she wanted to always have fond memories of her fiancé, she could never forget the last, tearful parting with him, when he had begun his quest for revenge.   
  
She would not find out until later that she had been the last person he had seen before leaving Nerima and the only person to whom he had confided. Of course she had been jealous, but Akane had been something of a friend and she knew that Ranma would have done the same thing if she, herself, had been the one to be kidnapped. It was this selflessness in him that she truly loved.  
  
The months after Akane's kidnapping had been difficult, especially for Ranma, whom nearly everyone blamed for the incident. Though he was quite clearly still in shock, the Tendos and his own parents declared he was without honor and subsequently kicked him out of the house until he avenged Akane. Ranma barely noticed anything, even when the distraught Tatewaki Kuno and Ryoga Hibiki both decided to physically take out their frustrations on him and when the unscrupulous Kodachi Kuno and Shampoo decided to seize the opportunity to take him for themselves. Ukyo had gone searching for him and eventually found him, battered, bruised, and nearly catatonic. She took him back to her shop and took care of him, hoping that somehow he would snap out of it. Slowly but surely, with her help, he had come back around. But the pain was still there, tearing away at him, until he finally decided to do something. She knew it was something he needed to do, not only to regain his honor but also to gain closure, and she had promised to wait for his return.  
  
And now here she was, living sunset to sunrise out of a small warehouse in Kyoto with her own demons to battle, that promise long broken. She did not cry for herself and the path she had taken or even for that short-sighted promise to Ranma. She cried because of her responsibility, her terrible responsibility, and because of what she would do to Ranma. She prayed that he would somehow understand and forgive her.  
  
Ukyo gave herself a few more minutes before shutting off the water. She walked out of the shower, grabbing a towel as she walked out of the bathroom and into her small room. The room was very Spartan, furnished with only a futon, a straight-backed metal chair, and a table near the door. She noticed some clothing had been laid out on the table next to an okonomiyaki and a cold beer. Ukyo walked over to the table, reading a note in sauce on the okonomiyaki that said "Cheer Up! ^_^", and smiled. Konatsu was as thoughtful as ever, one of the things she loved about him.  
  
The dying light of the sun cast long shadows on the wall, reminding her of the time. She decided to forgo the food in favor of getting dressed, slipping on her panties, a pair of perfectly fitting low rise black jeans, and a white tank top. She sat down to slip on a comfortable pair of socks and her calf-high black leather boots before standing to look herself over in the mirror. She ran a comb through her still damp pixie-cut hair, more so out of habit than actually caring how it looked.  
  
"You look mah-volous." said a comically accented voice. "Absolutely mah-volous!"  
  
"Yeah right." she replied to Konatsu, who was dressed in his usual kunoichi uniform. "You say that every night."  
  
"Well it's true, girl. A little vinyl and you'd be Trinity." Konatsu said, chuckling. "Besides, why break up a good routine? It's good luck."  
  
"There you go again about luck." she said as she followed him out of the room. "Who needs luck when you have skill?"  
  
"A little luck never hurts." he countered.  
  
The walked down the hall and out onto a catwalk that overlooked the rest of the warehouse. Though small, the warehouse was very well stocked and furnished for what they were doing. It had dozens of machining tools, stacks of tool chests, and rows of storage lockers in addition to living quarters and plenty of internal parking. "How are our Yakuza friends?" she asked him casually.  
  
"They're still out there, of course. Obviously they don't care if anyone notices. They're parked in the same spot as always."  
  
"And the Triads?"  
  
"Same."  
  
"Good. They'll spend all night staring at each other while we're out." They walked down the stairs to the ground floor and through a work area on whose benches lay tools, ammunition, and half-finished guns. "Got anything new for me?"  
  
"Not yet, but I'll have a nice surprise for you tomorrow. You'll just have to stick with regular silver dum-dums and your spatula till then." Konatsu replied, smiling. "I packed your trench. It's on the table next to your spatula."  
  
"Damn it, you know I hate it when you do that!" she said with mock exasperation. Ukyo walked over to where the spatula lay on a sword holder and picked up the black trench coat. It was weighed down with what an ordinary man would consider to be a heavy load but was light as a feather to her when she picked it up.  
  
"No you don't." he replied as she slipped the coat on. "You're just mad that I pack better than you." He promptly ducked as a small sack of flour sailed overhead.  
  
"Jerk!" she said to him, playfully. "Well, let's get moving then. There's a lot to do before sunrise."  
  
She buckled a bandolier of regular-sized, silver plated spatula around her waist and slipped on the trench coat before picking up her battle spatula and deftly securing it to the back of the coat. Konatsu slipped on his own trench coat, which looked odd with his standard kunoichi uniform. The two headed over to the two black motorcycles that sat in the parking area next to a big delivery truck. They were true sport bikes like the ones driven on the racing circuits, each having so many custom modifications that they were far beyond street legal even before factoring in the hidden weapons systems. They started automatically, sensing the approach of their owners, as Konatsu activated the sliding door of the warehouse.  
  
"Ko-chan, let's go see our friend Chang." said Ukyo. Konatsu surreptitiously activated the warehouse's security system as they revved their bikes and sped out of the warehouse. As Ukyo had said, there was much to do, and the night was young.  
  
-----  
  
The docks in Kyoto were always busy and this night was no exception. Goods, legal and illegal, from the world over flowed into the port endlessly under the watchful eyes of the Triads. The Chinese organized crime syndicate had recently muscled its way into the docks, replacing the Yakuza, and, as most crime outfits did, set up a headquarters there. The continued activity on the docks, as well as their total control of the labor unions that staffed the place, kept the Yakuza and the police well away from their activities.  
  
Ukyo and Konatsu sped through into docks, weaving through the maze of freight containers and warehouses and narrowly avoiding countless forklifts that moved freight around. They finally pulled into a nondescript warehouse that was amazingly empty of cargo or forklifts. It did, however, contain a dozen parked cars and SUVs, all foreign models, and twice as many men standing around the cars. After dismounting their bikes, Ukyo and Konatsu strode purposefully towards the stairs leading to a second story office, ignoring the men who were, no doubt, carrying concealed weapons. The men reached into their coats but, other than taking defensive stances, did nothing.  
  
When they reached the office door, a young looking man stood in their way. "What the hell do you two think you're doing, barging in here like this?" he demanded.  
  
"Move." Ukyo said, annoyed. "Now."  
  
"Do you know who I am, bitch?" the man yelled, enraged. He jabbed her chest with his index finger. "You'd better fuckin' show some resp-"  
  
"Ah shit, here we go..." said Konatsu, sighing to himself.  
  
The man cried out in pain as Ukyo grabbed his finger and bent it sideways with a sickening snap. She then grabbed him by his throat and slammed him against the wall. "You must be new here." Konatsu said to the man, who was struggling to breathe under her vice-like grip. "When she says move, you *move the fuck out of the way.*"  
  
The man barely heard that before she had flung him backwards over the railing. He crashed loudly onto the roof of a black Mercedes sedan, the windshield shattering from the impact. Konatsu looked down at him and whistled.   
  
"Whoever owns that car is gonna be *pissed*." he said. He looked back at her with a slightly annoyed look. "Was that really necessary?"  
  
"Whatever. That bastard touched my breast." she replied, opening the office door. Inside, five men were sitting at a table, all of whom wore alarmed expressions as they walked into the office.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" asked a man, who appeared to be the oldest among them, hearing the commotion outside. Unlike the other men, he was dressed in a Chinese tang, and was very short with graying hair grown in a long ponytail. "What have you done?"  
  
"Calm down old man, I only tossed one of your little errand boys around for getting in my way." Ukyo said. Konatsu coughed loudly and looked away.  
  
"My nephew...was it..." the man began, then trailed off. He stood up a little straighter before continuing. "No matter. Ukyo-san, Konatsu-san, please forgive my foolish nephew's impertinence."  
  
"Really, it's nothing Chang-san." Konatsu replied, trying to smooth things over.  
  
"Feh. He shoulda moved." Ukyo said before pulling up a chair to the table. Konatsu sighed, then sat down as well. Chang motioned to the other men to leave the room. After they were gone, he returned his attention to Konatsu and Ukyo.  
  
"These late hours you two keep are difficult for me. Those men whom I just had to dismiss are very important for our business in this part of the country. If we could only meet sometime during the day..."  
  
"You know we don't work the day shift, Chang. And last I checked, *our* people are making it possible for you Triads to muscle out the Yakuza for your 'business'." Ukyo said simply. Chang bowed his head, not disagreeing with her. "Now, I got your message about some intel and a possible job. Details?"  
  
"To the point as always, Ukyo-san. Very well." He produced two manilla envelopes and tossed them onto the table. Konatsu and Ukyo opened them up and slid the contents, a small sheaf of photos and documents, onto the table.  
  
"In two days, the Yakuza are set to receive a shipment of..."  
  
"With all due respect, Chang-san, we don't care what the shipment is." Konatsu said. "Just tell us why we should get involved in this."  
  
"Right...the reason you should care is because the Yakuza will be employing vampires for their security. My sources say only about twenty, but this shipment is very valuable and its arrival is no secret. They will probably have many more than twenty there. It's almost like..."  
  
"They're daring us to crash the party." said Ukyo. "Okay, so you have some vampire problems. Get everyone silver bullets and UV lamps and it'll be no problem. You still haven't told us what's in it for us."  
  
"I was getting to that." Chang picked up a photo from the table and held it up for them to see. "These people are the reason you should care. As you probably have guessed, they are vampires. But they're not just any vampires. They are, in fact, the vampires responsible for the current alliance between the Yakuza and the Japanese vampires."  
  
Ukyo raised an eyebrow at the statement. "That'd make them very important vampires, right Ko-chan?" Ukyo said. He nodded in response.  
  
"That's correct." Chang continued. "My sources tell me that they are close confidantes of the Emperor Hideki himself."  
  
Ukyo and Konatsu gasped at the same time. "And if they lead us to him," Konatsu said in a low voice, "we'll find her."  
  
"So, are you two with us?" Chang asked.  
  
"Do you really have to ask, old man?" Ukyo replied, her voice low and dangerous. "You're damn right we're in."  
  
-----  
  
Much later, Konatsu waited patiently in a parking lot directly across the street from a small, hole-in-the-wall rave club in a seedy section of Kyoto. Though he leaned casually against his bike, as if unconcerned for his personal safety, the male kunoichi was quite aware of everyone, human or vampire, in his vicinity. That there were several concealed weapons trained on him was little more than amusing to him. Whether they held illusions of safety with the firearms or had been grossly misinformed about his abilities, Konatsu knew they posed no real threat to him.  
  
He looked up as the techno music pouring from the club momentarily increased in volume, signaling that someone was exiting. Ukyo strode out as if in a hurry, pushing the two burly bouncers out of the way. Several more people, whom he could tell were vampires, followed her out of the club, obviously making sure not to get too close. She briskly walked across the street and, from the expression on her face, Konatsu could tell that she was agitated.  
  
"Let's go Konatsu." she said, her voice wavering slightly.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, concern showing on his face.  
  
"He-he's back in Tokyo...the-they're trying to capture him tonight." She stammered before stopping herself. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "We have to go help him, Konatsu. He's walking into a trap, and they're gonna throw everything at him."  
  
Konatsu nodded, understanding at once who she was talking about. Ranma. The thought of the pig-tailed martial artist always brought conflicting feelings to the surface. On one hand, he had a lifelong debt to Ranma for freeing him from his former clan. He also had to respect Ranma's abilities in the martial arts and how Ranma always stood by his friends. On the other hand, he loathed Ranma for his indecisiveness in the fiancé situation and how it had affected Ukyo. His current crusade to save Akane, while admittedly noble, was just like all the others. Though she would never admit it, Ukyo's heart was hurting because the man she loved was, once again, risking his life for another woman.  
  
He did have to admit that, as formidable an opponent Ranma was, the man was far from invincible. From what they had gleaned from various sources about his killing spree through Japan's vampire community, he never used a gun, making it that much easier to wear him down. It would probably take a while, but they would throw as many bodies at him as possible. Despite Ranma's knack for getting out of tough situations, Konatsu had to wonder whether his luck would hold up again. He pushed those thoughts to the side. It would not do to upset Ukyo anymore.  
  
"Okay, let's just stop by the warehouse to pick up some things. Then straight on to Tokyo." he replied.  
  
She nodded before mounting her bike and starting the engine. He started his bike as well and then the two thundered out of the lot, barreling through the streets of Kyoto with no regard for traffic signals or speed limits. Within fifteen minutes they were several blocks from the warehouse and, as always, he checked the status of the building's defense system on a small screen that was near the bike's gauges. Everything seemed to be normal to him, but something was nagging him as they rolled past the fence towards the slowly opening big warehouse door. Forty feet from the door, he realized what was wrong. The security system was built to be triple redundant for every function and it had a vibration detector so sensitive that it should have sensed the approach of two motorcycles a block away. It never registered anything.  
  
They were riding into a trap in their own warehouse.  
  
As he looked up, almost with disbelief, he saw that the interior of the warehouse radiated with the pitch black aura of death and it made him feel fear in the pit of his stomach. "UKYO!!!" Konatsu yelled out as loudly as possible. "It's a trap!!!"  
  
Whether she heard him or not, he was uncertain, but he knew that she could sense vampires nearby. She yelled out an Amazon battle cry before gunning the bike's engine, propelling herself into the darkness. Konatsu had the presence of mind to switch his headlight to UV before following her into the warehouse. Ahead of him, Ukyo suddenly slammed on her brakes and pushed forward on her handlebars, forcing the bike into a "stoppie". As an untold number of vampires descended on her position, she used the bike's momentum to catapult herself into a forward flip. As she flipped, she reached into her black trench coat and whipped out two black Desert Eagles and, before righting herself, began unloading the clips into the darkness. Despite the darkness and the fact that she simply was not looking at where she was firing, vampires began to crumble to dust as bullets struck them, nearly simultaneously, in the head and the heart. Ukyo hit the ground just as the last bullets were fired and, after throwing the guns to the ground, reached into her coat and produced two more Desert Eagles that were identical to the first ones she had used. She began running and dodging her assailants' bullets, emptying her guns as fast as one might empty an Uzi but no less accurate than if she had been firing with a sniper rifle.  
  
Konatsu, meanwhile, was faring just as well, though his weapons of choice were MAC-10s. Silver bullets sprayed from the guns no less accurately, keeping the attackers at bay for the moment. He was not fooling himself, however; if his senses were right, and they almost always were, they were quite outnumbered and outgunned. He knew that they could hold out a while longer thanks to the amply stocked trench coats they wore but, if the Triads did not come in soon, that would hardly matter. He rolled away as a hail of bullets peppered the spot where he had been standing, reaching into his coat again for a fresh pair of MAC-10s and firing them as he returned to his feet. He could sense Ukyo on the other side of the warehouse and moving further away.  
  
"Shit, they're dividing and conquering." he thought. "Not if I can help it."  
  
He dropped a gun and reached into his trench again, this time pulling out two vaguely grenade shaped things. He pushed buttons on their surfaces before almost bowling them across the floor in Ukyo's direction. Two seconds later, a huge explosion shook the warehouse's foundation. Using the distraction to his advantage, Konatsu dashed towards the Ukyo. The devastating grenades had cut a swath of death through the vampire ranks, leaving many in the affected area to dissolve into heaps of black ash. The more lucky vampires were merely severely dismembered but they had only seconds to lament their fortune before Konatsu shot them in passing.  
  
As he had expected, the vampire attack halted for the moment as all of them clutched their eyes in agony. This was no coincidence, as the grenades were designed to produce a high concentration of ultra-violet light along with concussive force. The result was a flash-bang grenade that only affected vampires and whose total ultra-violet output negated the protection of all but the thickest protective eyewear and clothing. Konatsu knew they needed this lull to regroup and possibly escape. He was relieved to see Ukyo was still shooting and was apparently unharmed.  
  
"Ukyo!" he yelled out. "There's too many of them! We've gotta get out now!"  
  
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" she exclaimed, each expletive punctuated by the report of her guns. "Where're the Triads?"  
  
"No time for that." He replied, grimly. They rushed towards the warehouse door, dodging more bullets apparently fired by human assailants. Konatsu was not so concerned with them as he was with the recovering vampires. The flash-bang had burned their eyes but it would not take them more than a minute to regenerate and, if he and Ukyo were not gone by then, their already slim chance of survival would be gone. As they approached the exit, though, he realized that the point was moot anyway. Just outside the warehouse, lying in wait should the two vampire-killers somehow escape, were, by Konatsu's count, another contingent of vampires and humans equal to the size of the one inside the warehouse. Overall, they were facing well over three hundred vampires and at least a hundred humans. The trap had been laid well; they had been doomed from the very beginning.  
  
They pulled up short at the warehouse entrance and, for a moment, stared at the impressive force. "That's how they want it, then." said Ukyo, her voice dripping with malice. She dropped her guns, then slowly reached up with her left hand and grabbed the handle of her spatula. "They wanna play. Let's play."  
  
The two dashed forward under a hail of gunfire, their battle auras flaring violently. Ahead of them, vampires in black bodysuits rushed forward to meet them, their guns blazing.   
  
"KACHU TENSHIN AMIGURIKEN REVISED:THOUSAND SPATULAS FLURRY!!!" she yelled out as she rushed towards her foes, flinging throwing spatulas with her right hand so fast that her arm was only a blur. The vampires that were too slow to recognize the projectiles paid for their lack of focus with their lives and the lives of comrades behind them, the spatulas flying with such force that they drove through multiple bodies. Konatsu followed close behind Ukyo, laying down a steady stream of fire with his MAC-10s. Behind him, he could hear yelling and the pounding of feet, telling him that the vampires in the warehouse had fully recovered and would be attacking their rear very soon.  
  
"UKYO!!!" he yelled at her. "I'M TAKING THE BACK!"  
  
He pulled up suddenly, not waiting for her acknowledgement, and, throwing down his guns, turned around to face the advancing horde. He reached into his jacket and produced three more flash-bangs, quickly activating and tossing them forward. Three vampires frantically dashed ahead of the pack and fell on the grenades, punching their hands through the concrete to anchor themselves. Within a second, the grenades exploded, reducing the vampires to dust, but they also absorbed most of the force and light from the explosion.  
  
"Shit." said Konatsu, quickly reaching into his trench coat again, this time with both hands. Taking a page out of Mousse's book, he threw his arms outward, flinging silver shuriken that glowed with an icy blue tint. The projectiles slammed into vampire and human alike but, when they hit a vampire, they exploded, engulfing the vampires in an eerily unnatural red and black flame. The attack, however, hardly slowed their approach, as more vampires took the place of those that had fallen. Vampires and humans that had encircled him began shooting as he prepared to face the approaching vampires hand to hand. Konatsu ignored the gunfire, whipping off his coat and throwing it to the ground. He let off one more volley of the exploding shuriken in the general direction of the shooters, then reached behind him to the weapon secured to his back.   
  
He grabbed his silver kusari-gama[1] with both hands, the kama end in his left hand, the weighted blade end in his right hand, and the chain itself dangling behind him. As the vampires closed in on him, they dropped their guns and pulled out various clubs, blades, and flails. Konatsu stood as still as a statue, his aura flaring icy blue and infusing the kusari-gama with intense cold. With a quick move that was far too fast for mere humans to see, he violently pulled the weight end of the kusari-gama. The kama end whipped around, slashing through the first row of the attackers and reducing them to dust. Ignoring the fate of their fallen comrades, some of the vampires moved to surround Konatsu while others leapt over them to attack him from the air. He gritted his teeth and continued spinning and flailing the chain with both hands, his ki infused silver weapon wreaking havoc on the vampires.  
  
He realized almost immediately that simply relying on defense would very quickly wear him down. Having to also dodge the continuous gunfire from the periphery would only hasten his eventual fall. With each vampire or human he killed, two more would replace them. Ki attacks, he reluctantly recognized, would be the only way to even the odds, even if he would not be able to do them for very long.  
  
He whipped the kama end of the kusari-gama around hard, then pulled it down hard towards the ground. "Suck on this! Bakusai Tenketsu!!!" he yelled as the blade slammed into the ground in the midst of his attackers. A spark seemed to flow through the chain and into the ground. A split second later the ground erupted in a four foot wide wave, originating from the kama. Vampires flew through the air, the concussive force tossing them around like so many rag dolls.  
  
Before he could take advantage of the situation, a shot rang out, and Konatsu could tell immediately that it was different from the cacophony of gunfire ringing in his ears. He shifted his weight backwards and leaned back as quickly as possible but still felt pain as a bullet grazed his shoulder. He ignored the pain, ducking and rolling as more of the mysterious bullets chased after him. Staying low, Konatsu defended himself while on his knees, hoping the vampires would block the sniper's view. It seemed to work because the following shots were not aimed at him, giving him the opportunity to move the attackers further away with his kusari-gama.  
  
A cry of pain from Ukyo jarred his attention away from defending himself for a moment, enough time for an opportunistic vampire ninja to kick him hard and send him flying through the air. Konatsu ignored the pain and twisted his body in the air for a better landing. He came down hard on yet another vampire, landing with a sickening crunch, and let off another volley of exploding shuriken. While the vampires ducked and rolled for cover, he dashed in Ukyo's direction. She was frantically dodging and fending off attackers while narrowly avoiding the sniper's bullets. They were so fast that, unlike normal bullets, he could not read their paths by sound but still was somehow able to sense their movement. Konatsu blindly threw shuriken at the most likely sniper positions with the hope of stopping the sniper long enough to get to Ukyo.  
  
His aim obviously had been true as the shooting stopped abruptly. He covered the remaining distance between himself and Ukyo and leapt over the mob surrounding her, his kusari-gama spinning like a deadly whirling dervish that claimed several victims before he landed beside her. He spun the weapon furiously overhead, keeping the vampires at bay for the moment.  
  
"You ok?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the vampires.  
  
"I-I'm fine." she replied, sounding tired. "Just a few grazes..."  
  
Her injuries seemed worse, but Konatsu decided not to press the issue. "There's something strange about that shooter...I can't follow the bullets right."  
  
"But you can sense it." Ukyo said, pausing to tiredly throw spatulas at a few vampires who rolled in underneath the kusari-gama.  
  
"Yeah. They'll wait for him to take another shot and try to get us when we start dodging." He did not bother voicing his low opinion of their chances of surviving much longer. They stood in a tense stalemate, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the next shot. Ukyo leaned heavily against him but Konatsu knew she would be ready to fight in an instant. The hesitation of the vampires, however, was nagging him.  
  
In his experience with vampires, the grunts rarely, if ever, showed any hesitation or fear of death. Indeed, during this very fight the ninja had veritably thrown themselves on his weapon, only to be replaced by even more of their brethren. Considering the time they had been fighting and that Ukyo was injured, now was the perfect time for the vampires to overrun them. And yet they hesitated, hanging on for the bullets of one sniper that, while the best sniper Konatsu had ever encountered, had yet to make a critical shot. It simply did not make any sense. He did not have to speculate further because a familiar voice boomed out, drawing every person's attention.  
  
"OI! You fucking bloodsuckers never learn, do you?" the voice said menacingly. As the man walked from out of the shadows, Konatsu realized why his voice was so familiar. The man wore steel-toed boots with black jeans and a yellow cut-off shirt. Instead of a backpack, he carried a thick satchel that he wore across his shoulder and chest and to which was attached an umbrella. And though his look had changed, Ryoga still wore his black and yellow bandanna. He slowly detached the umbrella from the satchel and opened it. From the way it caught the light, Konatsu suspected it was, at the least, silver plated. The vampires, surprisingly, were looking at the wayward martial artist with a mixture of fear and confusion.  
  
"Go back to hell, monsters!" Ryoga yelled as he flung the umbrella directly in the mob's direction. It was like a flying buzz-saw, cutting a swath through the vampires who tried in vain to deflect the projectile. Konatsu shoved Ukyo to the ground and threw himself on top of her. Around them, the vampires were yelling and taking cover in an attempt to regroup themselves while the whirling umbrella continued to move in and around them.  
  
"Konatsu, we'd better move while they're distracted." said Ukyo. He hesitated, looking at her with concern. "Hey, worry about me after we get out of Ryoga's path."  
  
Meanwhile, Ryoga began slowly walking towards them, arrogantly ignoring the bullets being directed his way. He smirked at the carnage his errant umbrella was causing. A group of vampires formed up and rushed at him but, instead of moving to engage them, he raised his hand to the sky, his index finger extended. Knowing what was coming, Ukyo and Konatsu ran as fast as possible to put distance between themselves and the oncoming destruction.  
  
"Bakusai Tenketsu Revised! Earth Rising to Heaven Blast!" he exclaimed, driving his finger into the ground. For a moment nothing happened and the vampires continued their rush. They got no closer than fifteen feet before the ground nearly liquefied under their feet. Shards of glowing concrete exploded upwards, ripping into the vampires, and gouts of white energy burst from the ground in their wake. The vampires screamed in agony as they were engulfed, their bodies expanding and deforming horribly before bursting into unnatural black and red flame. Almost simultaneously they all exploded, the flames eating away their ashes. In one move, Ryoga had nearly decimated the vampire attackers.  
  
"No challenge at all, as usual." he said to no one in particular. He stuck out his right hand and, almost immediately, the umbrella's handle smacked into his palm. He casually closed it and returned it to its holster on his satchel, pointedly ignoring the fleeing vampires and humans. Konatsu could only stare at him in awe, unable to understand how Ryoga could generate so much power. He did not dwell on the thought for more than a moment, turning his attention, instead, to Ukyo, who had collapsed to the ground.  
  
"Ukyo!" he exclaimed. He kneeled next to her, helping her sit up. "Damn it, I knew your injuries were worse than you'd admit."  
  
"Feh...I've been worse." she replied unconvincingly. To his dismay, she was bleeding in several places, but he had to agree with her.  
  
"You two okay?" asked Ryoga as he walked toward them.  
  
"Ukyo's a little banged up, but we're alright." said Konatsu. He gestured towards the fleeing vampires. "We should take care of the rest of them."  
  
Ryoga waved his hand dismissively. "I don't waste my time on small fish."  
  
"That's a dangerous way to think." Konatsu said as he stood up. "The less of them, the better. If you won't clean them up, I will."  
  
The sound of gunfire turned their attention to the gate entrance to the warehouse. The vampires and their human compatriots were frantically shooting at two men who had just jumped out of a black SUV and were returning fire. While they were both definitely very accurate, Konatsu could not help thinking that the vampires were falling far too quickly, as if there were another person shooting that he could not see. Focusing a bit closer on the action, he could see that not all of the vampires were falling from being shot; some fell from being sliced, meaning that this third person was so skilled that even his trained eyes could not keep up. One of the other men, a black man in a black long coat, threw down his guns and drew out a sword, diving into the remaining resistance with unnatural speed and ferocity. In very short order, they had completely finished off their opposition and Konatsu finally saw who the third person was.  
  
It was Ranma.  
  
-----  
  
Ranma stopped for only a moment, gulping in air and looking around frantically, and, on spotting them, he dashed over in what seemed like an instant. Ignoring Konatsu and Ryoga, he dropped to his knees beside Ukyo, cradling her in his arms. Too surprised to speak, she hugged him fiercely, tears streaming from her eyes. For once, he was not at a loss in responding to a girl's tears. "Sorry I'm late." Ranma whispered in her ear.  
  
"I don't care, baka, as long as they didn't get you." She replied softly, pulling back to smile at him through her tears.  
  
"You're hurt..." said Ranma, his face etched with concern.  
  
"It's nothing." She replied, but her weakened voice did not agree with her. "Just some flesh wounds."  
  
"Maybe, but these shallow wounds and your condition don't match up." He lightly touched one of her wounds and sniffed the blood on his fingers, wrinkling his nose at the smell. "Poison...very strong poison. If you weren't as strong as you are and the bullets hadn't just grazed you, you'd probably be dead by now."  
  
He began to calmly tap a few places on her body. "I'm realigning your ki to slow down the poison till we can find somebody to make an antidote."  
  
"Ranma-sama, " Konatsu said, "I can make the antidote."  
  
"You sure...I don't recognize this poison. It could be hard to beat if that's the case."  
  
"I've been trained by the best in poisons, Ranma-sama. I'm sure I could find the antidote."  
  
"Alright then, take her with you and get on that." He picked Ukyo up and placed her into Konatsu's arms, who promptly ran into the warehouse. In moments the lights in the place flickered on.  
  
Ranma let out a deep breath then turned to talk to Ryoga. "Hey Ryoga, thanks for-" He was cut off abruptly as Ryoga's fist slammed into his face, sending him flying directly into the Suburban. He slowly stood, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. "What the fuck is your problem, pig-boy?" he asked angrily.  
  
"You are, you honorless bastard." Ryoga spat back.  
  
"You know what, because you helped Ukyo and Konatsu out, I'm gonna let that slide." said Ranma, a menacing tone in his voice. "But if you ever question my honor again, I'll make you regret it."  
  
"Am I supposed to be scared by that? Don't make me laugh, Ranma." replied Ryoga, smirking. "What the hell have you done to redeem your honor? Akane is still gone and that means you're still a ronin. Do you remember what I said to you the last time I saw you, Ranma? Do you?"  
  
"My mind was on other things at the time, P-chan." Ranma retorted as he folded his arms across his chest in a gesture of annoyance. "Why don't you refresh my memory?"  
  
Ryoga growled at the P-chan remark but kept his anger in check. "Before I left you in a battered heap in Nerima, I said that if you hadn't found Akane or avenged her before I saw you again, I'd kill you." He dropped his satchel as a yellowish battle aura began to form around him. "Prepare to die, Ranma."  
  
"You know what, I'm not even going to try to reason with you, it never worked in the past, don't see why it would now." A red aura formed around Ranma as he spoke. "But no free shots this time, and nobody to help you like the last time."  
  
Before the two could even make a move, however, Whistler interrupted them. "You know, I hate to interrupt this little reunion, but what is beating the shit out of each other going to do besides make it easier for the vamps to come back around and finish what they started?"  
  
Ranma looked at the man, then reluctantly let his battle aura flicker out. "He's got a point Ryoga, and you know it." Ranma said.  
  
"Don't try to get out of this fight, Ranma." Ryoga retorted. "And you stay outta this old man, if you know what's good for you."  
  
"Ryoga, is it?" asked Blade "Tsk, tsk...you know, I really hate it when people threaten my partner. It's like they're threatening me. You don't want to do that."  
  
"Feh. Don't kid yourself, Daywalker. You might be good, but you're not good enough."  
  
"Ryoga-sama." Konatsu's voice came from directly behind Ryoga. Ryoga looked shocked, as if he had not heard the kunoichi approach. "I'm sorry, but I also can't allow you two to fight."  
  
Ryoga stared straight at Ranma, his gaze unwavering. "Fine then, I can take a hint. Next time you won't have anyone to hide behind, Ranma." With that, he picked up his satchel and slung it over his shoulder before turning on his heel and walking towards the street.  
  
"Ryoga-sama, wait!" Konatsu called out as he followed after Ryoga. Ryoga ignored him and continued walking. "Look, I'm not trying to gang up on you, especially after you saved me and Ukyo. But you saw what happened tonight, how close they came. The vampires are united to kill us all and we won't stand a chance unless we stick together."  
  
"Forget it...as long as Ranma's there, we won't 'stick together'."  
  
"Come on Ryoga, give him a break already! He hasn't just been sitting around since you left you know. He's just as much a target of the vampires as we are." said Konatsu. Ryoga looked like he wanted to say something, but kept it to himself. "Look, we're all trying to make the vampires pay for what they did to us. All I'm asking is for you to at least stick around for a couple days and think about joining us."  
  
Ryoga stopped and turned to look Konatsu in the eyes. "All right. I can stick around, but I won't guarantee anything."  
  
"Thank you." Konatsu said as they walked back to where the others were standing. "OK, Ranma-sama, Ryoga-sama, let's have a truce, especially in light of everything that's happened tonight."  
  
Ranma folded his arms over his chest and stared hard at Ryoga. "Fine with me as long as pig-boy keeps to it."  
  
Ryoga bristled at the comment but kept his tone even. "Don't worry about that, *Ranko*. I won't let your being an asshole break the truce."  
  
As the two stared each other down, Blade could not help but comment. "Excuse me if I'm not exactly confident about this truce of theirs."  
  
"Don't worry about that." replied Konatsu. "They may not like each other but they're honorable men. They'll keep their word."  
  
"That's very reassuring." Whistler replied dryly. "So anyway, you're Konatsu, right?"  
  
"Right. I guess Ranma-sama mentioned me and Ukyo. And let me guess; you are the infamous Whistler and Blade, correct?"  
  
"I see our reputation precedes us." Blade said.  
  
"You could say that. We, as I'm sure you understand, find it useful to keep our fingers on the pulse, so to speak, of the vampire community. They've been talking about you two since you set foot in Beijing. We decided to do some...'research' after hearing your names tossed around so much. I can't say I expected the Daywalker to show up at our door, and with Ranma-sama no less.  
  
"Anyway, it's almost dawn, so let's head inside." Konatsu said, gesturing towards the warehouse. "They tore the place up pretty badly, but they didn't find the vault, so we actually do have a place to rest up."  
  
He led Blade and Whistler into the warehouse. The building's interior looked like the scene of a disaster. The vampires had smashed up everything of practical use to the vampire hunters. They followed Konatsu past an overturned delivery truck to what looked like a manhole in the warehouse floor. They climbed down the steel ladder into a well lit, short corridor from which four doors opened.  
  
"I'm surprised they didn't find this little bunker of yours, Konatsu." Blade said.  
  
"Well, you can't tell now, but when that hole is covered it is very well camouflaged." Konatsu replied. "Excuse the cramped quarters, but this is our emergency bunker. It was only intended for two people, but we'll make do. The first door on the right is a weapon shop; after that, is a training room. On the left is the storage room and after that is the living area."  
  
"You call this cramped? Just what kind of emergency were you planning for?" asked Whistler.  
  
"The worst kind." replied Konatsu. "You're all welcome to rest up. There's food and some cots in the living area. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of."  
  
"Konatsu..." Ranma began.  
  
"She's in the med room in the living quarters, Ranma." He replied as he climbed back up the ladder.  
  
The four entered the living area which was a fair sized room. Even with five cots set up, the room did not feel cramped at all. Ranma immediately went into the door next to the kitchen area and Ryoga made his way to a cot. He dropped his satchel, which landed with the loud thud of an extremely heavy object, and threw himself on the bed. "Wake me up in a few hours." he said to no one in particular.  
  
Blade sat on another cot and pulled his serum case from an internal coat pocket. As he was taking the serum, Whistler sat across from him on another cot. "So what do we do Blade?" Whistler asked. "We have that thing in a couple days..."  
  
"Yeah, but I have a feeling they're gonna need our help."  
  
"Help? You did watch these guys fight, right?" said Whistler, incredulously. "You see all those silver bullets out there? You notice that Ryoga's umbrella is silver? They're certified pros, Blade. They don't need our help."  
  
"Maybe. But there's a lot more to this than we know right now. Look at how many vamps were out tonight for just these few people. There's something big going on and we need to find out what it is."  
  
Whistler did not reply immediately. He looked over Blades shoulder at Ryoga, who seemed to be fast asleep. Confident the boy wouldn't wake up, he continued, this time in vampire tongue. Sounds like you want to go on a 'fact finding' trip.  
  
Later tonight, yeah. Before that, we need to find out as much as we can about these four. Especially him. Blade said, nodding over his shoulder at Ryoga. With his strength, he should've been on our list. We're going to find out why that wasn't the case.  
  
Ok. I'll go fish around for info from Konatsu. You get some rest and see what you can get out of them when they wake up. replied Whistler as he stood up. "I'm gonna go move the truck and see if Konatsu needs some help."  
  
"Damn Whistler, don't you ever sleep?"  
  
"Yeah right, there's too much to do. I'll have plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead!"  
  
-----  
  
"No Chang-san, I'm not angry. This wasn't your people's fault. We were arrogant; we should've had more of your men watching the place." Konatsu let out a deep sigh as he listened to Chang on his cell phone. "Yes, this does change things. Now there's no telling how many will be there...of course we'll still be there. Ukyo will be fine in-"  
  
Konatsu stopped short when he heard Whistler approaching. "Chang-san, I'm sorry but I'll have to call you back." he said before hanging up and flipping the cell phone shut.  
  
"Am I interrupting something?" the older man asked.  
  
"Not at all, Whistler-san. I thought you'd be down below resting though."  
  
"Not much for sleep, especially when there's dangerous business at hand." Said Whistler. "I was walking around in here. You guys had a pretty sophisticated set up. Plenty of tools for all sorts of useful stuff."  
  
"All necessary for what we do, as I'm sure you understand."  
  
"I do, believe me. I just don't understand where you got the money for it all."  
  
Konatsu wasn't fazed by the subtle prod. "Let's just say we do favors for very generous people with vampire problems and leave it at that."  
  
Whistler nodded at the vague answer. "Fair enough. Can I ask about your weapons? They're very interesting and, since I make Blade's weapons, maybe I can learn something from them."  
  
The way Konatsu's eyes lit up at the remark, Whistler could tell he had found the way to more information. "Well, they're really not that special." Konatsu said modestly. "I plated Ukyo's spatula and my kusari-gama as well as all our throwing weapons. For bullets, I used to make hollow points before switching to a hollow slug with silver dust and cutting notches in the bullet heads."  
  
"Why make them dum-dums?"  
  
"They explode and rip the flesh worse than hollow points. It's much easier for the silver dust to penetrate then." He replied with obvious pride. "If you want to come down to the weapon shop, I'll show you my improved bullet. I think it'll be completely lethal for vampires, even on non-vital or surface hits."  
  
"Sure, we can talk shop."  
  
"Great! You don't know how hard it is to find people interested in weapon design; it'll be good to talk about it with someone who's knowledgeable. I need to show you the flash-bangs. They're probably the best things I ever made!"  
  
-----  
  
Several hours later, Konatsu and Whistler emerged from the weapons room, still talking about weapons. They broke off their conversation abruptly when they noticed Ryoga emerging from the storage room.  
  
"Looking for something, Ryoga-sama?" Konatsu asked.  
  
"Huh?!" Ryoga replied, seemingly startled. "Oh, right. I was going to work out, but I got lost..."  
  
"OK, you want the training room. It's the door right after this one."  
  
"Right, thanks." Ryoga replied before going into the training room.  
  
Whistler looked after him with an incredulous look on his face. "Just how the hell do you get lost in *here*?"  
  
"I don't even think Ryoga-sama knows. He has the worst sense of direction and spends more time lost than found." Konatsu responded.  
  
"It's odd that he would run into you guys with that problem."  
  
"Not really. He's always popping up when you least expect it."  
  
"How convenient." said Whistler dryly. "Anyway, all that talking got me hungry. I think I'll go rustle up something."  
  
"Whistler-san, I'd be a horrible host if I let you cook. I'd be happy to throw some food together. Besides, everyone should be up soon and the only other cooks won't be up to making any food."  
  
They entered the living quarters, Konatsu heading straight for the small kitchenette. Whistler sat on the cot next to Blade, who appeared to be sleeping. "I thought you were going to talk to him." he said in a low voice.  
  
"No opportunity."  
  
"He's up and wandering around. How was there no opportunity?" Whistler asked. "Anyway, I think we need to keep an eye on him."  
  
"I was going to say the same thing to you." replied Blade. "Something about him isn't sitting right with me."  
  
"Hmmm...well, we just saw him coming out of the storage room. He said he was lost, if you can believe that."  
  
"Bullshit. No one can get lost down here."  
  
"That's what I thought too, but Konatsu seemed to think it was normal. Supposedly this guy has no sense of direction."  
  
"But he conveniently shows up to save the day."  
  
"Konatsu said that was normal too."  
  
"It still doesn't add up. With all the power he has, a few encounters with vampires would put him on the radar, even if he's always lost and appears sporadically." Blade stated matter-of-factly. "We should know about him, but we don't. I'm not exactly buying that."  
  
"Let's just keep our eyes open until we learn more. Something's bound to come out."  
  
They both looked up as Ranma and Ukyo entered the room from the medical room. Ranma was female and looked a bit damp and annoyed. Ukyo, besides looking a bit pale, did not seem any worse for wear. They walked over to talk to Konatsu, who was busy in the kitchenette.  
  
"Good afternoon Ukyo, Ranma-sama." Konatsu said to them as he continued working. "You're looking much better now, Ukyo."  
  
"Thanks to you, Ko-chan." she replied as she hugged him from behind and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me again."  
  
Konatsu's cheeks burned. "It was nothing, really. Ranma-sama helped with his shiatsu. Now go on before Ranma-sama bursts a vein."  
  
Ukyo turned to look at Ranma-chan, who quickly looked away from them. She still caught a glimpse of jealously and confusion in her face and couldn't help but giggle at her. "Aww, what's wrong Ran-chan? Is that jealousy I see?"  
  
"No way, why would I be jealous?" she replied unconvincingly.  
  
"You can have a hug too." Ukyo said, glomping onto her.  
  
"Gah! C'mon, cut it out Ukyo." Ranma-chan said as she made a half-hearted attempt to fend her off. She rolled her eyes as Ukyo put on a hurt look. "And you're not fooling me with those sad eyes, you know."  
  
"Boo, you're no fun." She said, pouting.  
  
"Sure I am. Anyway, can I get some hot water Konatsu?" She took the proffered glass of hot water and dumped it over her head, quickly filling out the baggy clothes. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem." Konatsu replied. "The food's almost ready. Can someone go get Ryoga-sama?"  
  
Before anyone got up to find Ryoga, he walked into the room. Whistler and Blade looked at each other as he entered but did not say anything. "Did I miss dinner?" he asked.  
  
"You're right on time apparently, Ryoga." Ukyo said, smiling. She walked up to him and embraced him. "Thanks for helping us yesterday."  
  
"Um...erm..." Ryoga stammered, obviously flustered, and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh...you-you're welcome."  
  
Ukyo giggled at his reaction. "It's good to see some things have changed about you guys."  
  
Konatsu clapped his hands for attention. "Ok everyone, the okonomiyaki are ready and there are some drinks here on the counter. Just help yourself."  
  
Ranma stood back while Ukyo, Whistler, and Ryoga helped themselves, eyeing the okonomiyaki suspiciously. "Are these safe to eat? No offense Konatsu, but you used to make some lethal okonomiyaki."  
  
Ukyo punched him on the arm and laughed. "Ranma, you meanie, of course they're ok! He's gotten a lot better since..." she trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. Before an awkward silence could settle, Konatsu spoke up.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not nearly as good as Ukyo but I think you'll be surprised, Ranma-sama. Go ahead and try one."  
  
Ranma put one of the okonomiyaki on a plate and took a bite. He nodded his approval before getting another from the platter and grabbing a can of melon soda. Konatsu watched Ranma and Ukyo as they went to sit on a cot near Blade and he noticed that the black man was not getting up to get any food. Before he could say anything, Whistler answered his unasked question.  
  
"Don't worry about him, he doesn't need to eat very much." he said as he took a bite of his okonomiyaki. "It's an unfortunate side effect of being half vampire."  
  
"I see." He grabbed an okonomiyaki and a beer and followed Whistler to where everyone was sitting on the cots.  
  
"So...does that mean you-" Ukyo began asking before Blade cut her off.  
  
"Not in a long time." Blade answered quickly.  
  
"He takes a serum that substitutes for blood." Whistler volunteered. His explanation seemed to satisfy everyone for the moment. A silence fell over the room as everyone went back to their food and thoughts.  
  
Blade cleared his throat. "I have a question for you all. Ranma already told us he's hunting vampires to find his fiancé Akane. Why are you?"  
  
"I've been looking for Akane too." Ryoga replied between bites.   
  
Konatsu glanced at Ukyo, who was concentrating on her plate and staying conspicuously silent. He sighed, somewhat tiredly, before answering Blade. "We are also looking for Akane."  
  
"You do realize that, after all this time, she's probably-"  
  
"Dead. Yeah yeah, you and Whistler keep trying to remind me of that." Ranma interjected. "Nothing you guys say is going to change what I'm doing, Blade. I'll avenge her death if it's the last thing I do."  
  
As Ranma spoke, Konatsu looked over at Ukyo again. She wore an expression of both fear and, when their eyes met, she surreptitiously shook her head. Konatsu folded and unfolded his hands a few times, then nodded at her. She sighed dejectedly and nodded at him, looking down as she did so. Whistler noticed the exchange but did not know what to make of it.  
  
"Um, Ranma-sama, that's not possible." Konatsu said.  
  
"What?!" Ryoga and Ranma said simultaneously.  
  
"You...you two really don't know?" The male kunouichi asked them incredulously.  
  
"Know what, Konatsu? What about Akane?" Ranma asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.  
  
"Think about it Ranma." Ukyo said, her voice hard as steel. "If she's not dead, what else could she be?"  
  
It took a moment for the implication to sink in and, when it did, it hit the two martial artists like a ton of bricks. "Oh God no..." Ranma said, stunned.  
  
"I'm sorry Ranma-sama, but Akane was turned." Konatsu said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. His next statement was no less devastating. "And she's now the Empress of the Japanese vampires."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
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Author's Notes  
  
[1] The kusari-gama is a traditional weapon of the ninja made of two individual weapons, the kama (or sickle) and the kusari-fundo (or weighted chain). In this case, Konatsu has modified the weapon a bit so that the weight on the end of the chain is also a blade. For more information on this and other ninja weaponry, try http://www.martialarts.com/martial-arts-articles/ninja_weapons.htm  
  
First off, apologies for taking four months to get this one done. Real life plus struggling through writer's block and properly planning this chapter slowed me down a lot. I think I'm through promising chapters on a schedule because I never keep to it :p Seriously, a goal of mine for the year is to churn out at least 1 chapter of fan fiction a month so hopefully I'll stick to that. This one turned out to be quite a bit longer than I expected, hopefully not to the story's detriment. I still maintain that the story will only be about 10 chapters with none of that "3a,3b,..." nonsense I do with HoaW. Also, I'd like to note that this story is a cross between the movie version of Blade and the Ranma manga. If you're not read up on the manga (shame on you :p ) you can find out more at www.furinkan.com. Somebody also mentioned to me that Blade is out of his league or is merely a secondary character. Trust me, that couldn't be further from the truth; he's got a lot more tricks up his sleeve that will come in quite handy later on. Finally, to everyone who reviewed this and other stories I've written, thanks for the ego boost ^_^ Don't be afraid to get really critical though, I can use the help. Till next time...  
  
Sorry for making your read this long AN section ~_~ 


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